Benjamin Rivera, now in his eighth concert season as conductor of Cantate, is the bass section leader of the Chicago Symphony Chorus and also performs with the Grant Park Chorus and Chicago a cappella.  With these and other groups, he has shared the stage with many of today’s foremost musicians.  He appears regularly as a soloist throughout the Midwest, often in the works of Bach.  He is also the Worship Leader of Cross & Crown, a non-denominational church on the northwest side of Chicago.  He holds the Master of Music degree in Music Theory from Roosevelt University and is the Artistic Director of the Choir Academy Charter School of Chicago.